How to Use Any Emoji as Tapback Reaction on iPhone, Mac, iPad
The Tapback reaction feature in Messages for iPhone, iPad, and Mac is popular, and with the latest versions of system software for these devices, you can now Tapback with any Emoji, rather than just the handful of defaults. This offers a nice way to further customize a response to a message, and it’s pretty easy to use.
While the tapback reaction feature has been around for a while, you will need a modern iOS, iPadOS, or MacOS version to use any Emoji as a tapback reaction. Specifically, you’ll need iOS/ipadOS 18 or later, or MacOS Sequoia or later, to have access to this feature.
How to Tapback React with Custom Emoji on iPhone, Mac, iPad
This feature works the same on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac:
- Open the Messages app and navigate to the message you wish to Tapback a reaction to
- Long press / click on any message in the conversation
- Swipe left across the tapback reactions and tap on the grey smiley face icon
- Now select any Emoji using the Emoji keyboard
- The custom Emoji Tapback reaction will send right away when you select that emoji
This is a fun way to customize your Tapback Reactions, and it’s a significant improvement over selecting from the handful of reactions that were available for years before. Being able to select any Emoji this way can bring more precise tapback responses, and humor too.
This works the same on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, though it should be mentioned that for Mac users you can also access the Tapback Reactions menu by right-clicking on any Message within the Messages app, which will instantly bring up the Tapback Reactions menu as well.
If someone else has sent you a custom Emoji Tapback Reaction, you can also long click/press on the message and choose “Tapback Details” to see a larger version of the particular emoji, and see each individual tapback response if you’re in a group thread or group message.
What do you think of the new ability to use any Emoji in the Tapback Reaction feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
